Ever since the two tragic earthquakes struck southeastern Türkiye, almost everyone in the country has rallied to help in any way, including the expat community.
As residents from the region struck in Türkiye are beginning to make their way to other areas in Türkiye and are being hosted by hotels and even private homes, more and more lists are being published through social media appealing for items in need by the earthquake victims. These are lists, such as clothing, shoes and personal cleaning items that you can find posted in expat community groups on behalf of charitable organizations. Much of the communication of what is needed and where donations are being coordinated has been done through the multiple expat community groups in Türkiye on platforms such as Facebook.
The Bodrum Echo Community is a Facebook group for the Bodrum Echo Newsletter, which for decades now has been providing information on upcoming events, fundraisers, news of interest to expats and classified ads services. The Bodrum Echo Community Facebook group is just as valuable a resource as it continually offers news that interests expats and is a platform people can ask for advice and more recently how to donate.
The main charity expats have been contributing their time to in the Bodrum peninsula is Bodrum Humanity, in Turkish "Bodrum’da İnsanca Yaşam Derneği," which is a charity organization that provides humanitarian and cultural support for underprivileged children. The Bodrum Echo Community has also been posting announcements by the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Bodrum Humanity and together both have rallied volunteers that even filled a ship with donations.
At present, the Bitez Gençlik Merkezi is now serving as the collections coordination center and should you want to donate, lists of items needed are being posted by the Bodrum Echo Community group. To learn more about Bodrum Humanity’s efforts, visit the website: Bodrumdainsancayasam.com.
The Facebook groups Yalıkavak Info and Expats in Bodrum are also good resources for any expat-related questions and to be up to date on other charity events such as the regularly organized second-hand market in which proceeds go to help the Yalıkavak Street Animals.
The Ege Eye is a website and Facebook community that offers informative local and national news updates in English. Based in Aydın’s Kuşadası, and with a focus on the region’s expat endeavors and interests, the Ege Eye has been publishing expat-geared news since 2005 and every month publishes a downloadable newspaper with news stories on the region. The Ege Eye also operates the foreign citizen’s advice center located on Kahramanlar Street in the heart of Kuşadası, which is open on weekdays.
The Fethiye Times is an extremely informative website and Facebook community that posts the latest and most relevant English-language news articles on Türkiye. Currently posting accounts of earthquake survivors and relief efforts as well as ways in which to donate to the victims, Fethiye Times has been serving as an English news source since its founding in 2005. Based in the resort town of Fethiye, the website and Facebook page also provide valuable insider knowledge on Fethiye, serving as a travel guide as well as a news source and has a Facebook group devoted to events in the region. The Fethiye Times has also been instrumental in organizing a number of charity events themselves such as the annual Race for Life marathon held in the region each year.
The Istanbul-based Yabangee is the go-to website for listings of events, advice, reviews, news stories and guidelines such as where to donate and how to be prepared. Admittedly more lighthearted content geared toward the younger urban professional, with a calendar of cultural and music events, the Facebook group also serves as an informative platform and provides information on what is needed and how to do charitable work in Istanbul.
While the Facebook group “Come fly with me!” was originally started to assist with travel queries between Türkiye and the U.K., it has since become an indispensable portal for thousands of expats on many diverse topics and has been instrumental in coordinating help for earthquake victims.
Last, but certainly not least, is the Doc Martins Surgery for Expats in Türkiye, which is a Facebook community that also has a wordpress website containing files of a wealth of information on all legalities and red tape in Türkiye. Functioning as a directory of answers to pretty much any question an expat may have, don’t be dissuaded by the name as Doc Martins Surgery For Expats is not a reference to health issues per se, but instead serves as the proverbially “doctor” to tend to any sort of expat needs or queries.
From our very own Daily Sabah to the many other news outlets publishing in English, a majority of the teams involved are also expats residing in Türkiye. While Daily Sabah is an excellent source of daily news on Türkiye, the region and the world, Anadolu Agency (AA) also presents English news stories on its website. TRTWorld and ANews are not only English-language television news broadcasting agencies, but they also operate websites publishing the latest news developments on Türkiye.
